that is our show. i am john stossel. good night. >> that evening, everybody. who is responsible for the obaml administration's falsened administration's false statements about what happened and then cossey and why.e all statements that were made by the white house and ambassador susan rice period. catherine herridge learned today that neither the director of national intelligence, nor the acting cia director, was responsible forrepairing

preparing a report that partially blamed the benghazi attack on amateurish youtube anti-islam video. they claim the president obama pressed upon the american people and upon the united nations general assembly. he was push hard to explain what caused them to push the youtube video three days after that attack. the chief said simply he was not at the betray -- petraeus briefing and had nothing to say. there was demonstrable and incurable evidence of their involvement and no evidence of anytng other than a terrorist attack. and the administration continued to press its false tale, despite

fox news reporting and they reported within 24 hours, u.s. intelligence agencies monomania that the attack was an act of terrorism with ties to al qaeda, but had also identified and located one of the leaders of the attak. despite warnings hours before, state department e-mails reviewed two hours into the attack that the administration had been alerted that the terrorist group al sharia was already taking credit for the siege. and then the statement was made just 14 hours after that attack. >> you are rigt that this is not a situation that was exactly the same as what happened in egypt. and my suspicion is that the are folks involved in this who are oking to target americans

from the start. lou: cbs did not air that particular statement. they waited weeks to release it. and another statement from a critical statement made by the president. contrary to the evidence, ambassador susan rice run on five talk talkshows five days later and told the american public that the murders of four americans in benghazi were not the result of a preplanned attack. the president made clear in yesterday's press conference that were ordered by the white house. congressman nunes said it appears now that we have more questions than we have before. questions that could finally be answered tomorrow when former cia director david petraeus, brings as much anticipated benghazi testimony. now that he has been removed

from the obama administration. we take this up with congressman trey gowdy. former pentagon official, k.t. mcfarland, and best-selling author, ed klein. and former bush adviser, ron christie. moments ago, ranking members of the senate intelligence committee spoke to the press that they had little to offer in regard to the actual testimony given. dianne feinstein, the chair, said committee members were able to watch a film that was a composite, real-time document of the beginning to the end of the terrorist attack. she announced additional hearings that are closed and open hearing will take place in the future. however, she refused to comment on whether that reflected the obama adminiitration's descriptions of the events are at the cia agents in benghazi call for help for separate times. tonight, the cia has launched an exploratory investigation into

the conduct of david petraeus. he is scheduled to testify in front of the house intelligence committee tomorrow. joining me now is to congressman trey gowd. he is a member of the house oversight committee. this is a remarkable period in american history. we assume at some point, it perhaps as early as this evening, at least there wilbe a reaction is what they heard today. does it trouble you that neither james clapper or mr.robert mueller --

>> my recommendation is they need to familiarize themselves before they come over oversight or a house committee and if they think they are going to make it without disclosing that name, they are still sorely mistaken. lou: is deeply troubling, if not? >> it is one the administration claims to be mostly transparent since the earth cooled. we're going to find out what happened and when dossey without the voluntary health or with the voluntary help of the people. we will have committee hearings until the lord comes back if that's what it takes. we have four murderee americans.

i also found the president's reaction to what the three senators said to be disappointing. he does get fensive when he is question we didn't send susan rice. if he is upset and frustrated, he has no one to blame but himself. lou: legislators keep forgetting to put for the fact that there

were three senators on this committee, not just the two men, a number of them have stepped forward to say this is rough treatment of a woman, namely ambassador rice, forgetting that senator ayotte is also amongst those. >> how paternalistic is that, lou? susan rice can think for herself. she has a career as a diplomat. she should have asked the intelligence officials what information are you sending me out. that fact is conveniently left out. but soon susan rice has been in government for a long time. if she thinks that she can go out and pear and administration talking points and not be called on it, then she is going to be surprised. lou: are you hopeful about david petraeus appearing before the

intelligence committee in the house tomorrow? hopeful that he will be straightforward and truthful? >> i think that he will be. i'm cautiously optimistic that it will add to our body of knowledge. the reality is multiple witnesses within the body of knowledge. susan rice is another one. hillary clinton is another. we would not be doing are due diligence as investigators if we did not question the office. if the president thinks we're being unfair to susan rice, he can comment. that is always an option, too. if he wants to be sent for my millions towards her company can come to congressman to the questions. lou: i'm going to be asking a number of people throughout this question, but under feinstein, her committee did not want to comment. i want to does ask you quickly wrap up here. for your viewers, is whether or not there is any grounds for not commenting on what seems to be a matter of fact issue. she was asked whether the cia

operatives in benghazi, what about them calling for help? and can you think of any reason why that would not be a matter that could be shed with shared with the american public? >> no, sir, i cannot. lou: and what about the administration's original versions of events? your reaction? >> there's a difference of not wanting comment on something and not being able to. it is uncomfortable for anyone outside of the aisle, this was a fiasco, but there is a differencebetween not being able to shed light on something and choosing not to do it. i can think of no reason there is no legal bar to them providing answers be one of the reagan administration is going, turning one thing over after another with various investigations, it's going to

come in a situation where this administration cannot talk about much and foreign policy whatsoever. congressman, you get the last word on this. >> on the president obama credit for being able to do one thing that i have not seen in the time that i know him, which is to get senator graham as upset as i have never seen him about anything. and he punches above its weight class. he is engaged on benghazi. kelly ayotte, john mccain, jason chivers, some of us are young enough that we will be around matter how much they want to store mall. we will be around to get the answers, especially for the families of those four murdered americans. lou: coppersmith, we appreciate you being here and your efforts are congressman trey gowdy. >> thank you. lou: much more on benghazi, and the testimony of general petraeus later in this broadcast. negotiations about the fiscal cliff. partisan rhetoric isrampant.

can this president and these leaders really reach a deal? acclimate ron christie join us in moments. final resolution. the deadly bp oil spl results in record fines and multiple criminal charges. we will have the latest 40 we will have the latest 40 straight [ malannouncer ] it'that time of year again. time for cii price rewind. because your daughter really wants that pink castle thing. and you really don't want to pay more than you have to. only citi price rewind automatically searches for the lowest price. and it finds one, you get refunded the difference. just use your citi card and register your purchase online. have a super sparkly day! ok. [ male announcer ] now all you need is a magic carriage.

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what's in your wallet? let me guess, am i on the naughty list again? ho ho ho! lou: negotiations to solve the so-called fiscal cliff begin in earnest tomorrow. does anyone believe america's leaders can make a deal here? monica crowley and ron christie join us here and just moments for that and much more. it's nice moneyline, stocks have been steadily falling since president obama won reelection. today, no different. just a matter of degree. the dow jones industrial down 29 points. the s&p lost.

the nasdaq down 10 points. the dow has fallen 10% since election day. it has entered correction territory, down 10% or more. the weekly jobless claims surging by 78,000. that being attributed to the superstorm sandy and in corporate news, texas instruments gaining a fraction and announcing it will lay off about 1700 of its employees. about 5% of its workforce. overseas, officially knowledge acknowledging that they are back into recession. the economy shrinking. a 10 yea on note shrinking.

the housing market is improving, but obstacles still block a faster recovery. >> it seems likely this point that the pendulum has swung too far the other way. that overly tightened lending standards may now be preventing creditworthy borrowers from violent homes. thereby, slowing the revival of housing and keating economic recovery. lou: the good news is that i can do something about that. "the wall street journal" reported the federal housing administration has a $13.5 billion deficit. let me repeat that, $13.5 billion deficit. it is not official, but it is all but certain. oil giant bp and the justice department reaching a settlement over the deepwater horizon disaster in the gawker of the worst offshore oil spill in american history. bp oil agreed to pay

$1.5 billion related to the death of 11 workers. three of the employees were also indicted on criminal charges including manslaughter and lying to congress. and raising taxes on the wealthy to prevent the economy from going over that cliff. afl-cio president richard trumka -- it turns out he's not worried about $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts. in prepared remarks and washington event today, richard trumka said, and please remember this, this is just beautiful -- there is, he said, no fiscal cliff. what we are facing is an obstacle course that was hastily

thrown together in response to inflated rhetoric about our federal deficit. richard trumka's remarks followed a meeting with the president and others earlier in the week. joining us now to talk about taxes and the president's second term agenda, his legacy, and oh, yes, what happens to the rest of us. the author of what just happened, monica crowley and former special assistant to george w. bush, ron christie. monica, have to say, eloquent labor leader, richard trumka from a manufactured crisis. the mathematics don't matter. >> well, apparently mathematics do not matter. according to the president of united states the united states from the math doesn't matter or he simply doesn't care. this is a president hasnow racked up $16.2 trillion in debt and given us a record-breaking four straight years of trillion dollar less deficit.

in his press conference yesterday, when he was talking about the need to cut the deficit and bring this under control, he has credibility on this. he has had for years, including two years for of democratic congress to be serious about it. he has not demonstrated. there is nothing in his background or pattern or history that leads us to believe he will do just. lou: senator patty murray, wants to be the chair of the senate budget committee but of dollars that she cannot commit to actually passing a budget. what are we doing with your? >> we are dealing with a bunch of adolescents in the united states senate who don't leave. the congressional budget office is very clear.

it is the law of the la he'd have to pass a budget. harry reid hasn't passed a budget and over three years. lou: oh, please, you're just being unrealistic in their expectations. [laughter] human traditions, you are values that our lawmakers to actually follow the law. is that too much to ask? we have had trillion dollar deficits for the last four years. they are protecting the trillion dollar deficits for the next four years. lou: when we come back and i want to talk to you about benghazi, petraeus, and the degree to which we should expect anyone to pay attention to what would be the impact if the president has his way on taxes and thhouse republican leadership paid-in and simply accede to his wishes without concerning themselves with the consequences. we will be right back with monica crowley and ron in just a

moment. what role will the united states play? we will be talking with k.t. mcfarland about that. general p

lou: it looks like we are fully prepared to widen hostilities. and frankly, we are talking about a widening war. >> yes, it will take a long time to get israel's enemies act out. this will end up, and i hope i'm wrong about this, this will end up being where america's enemies

perceive a second term from another four years -- he had just our allies and embraced her enemies. you deal with the mouse, they are going to log on to mass there. is the northern border, and now you have a wider war. they know they cannot rely on us. lou: you are one of my very favorite people. when you talk about gopher broke, a global free-for-all, nothing to lose, this is language that is i hope not

shared by benjamin netanyahu. they have much to lose. it is an accident issue for the israelis. it is a matter of deciding what in the world, and i'm fairly comfortable that the israeli government has made the decisions about how far they are going to have to go see to dinner strategy and their purpose. what are your thoughts? >> agree with mark on this. i really believe that israel -- you have the syrians that are showing up on israel and also showing turkey. you have what is largely abandoned and overrun the. lou: let me put that into context. syria will not show much of turkey. they are incapable of showing much of israel.

the real issue is what is their view towards iran and what will be their goal? >> i don't think that they are in a position that they have much choice. other than taking action. the united states -- present obama has not had israel's accents in office. they continue to enrich uranium and get a nuclear weapon. they want to wipe israel off the face of the map. how can they not take this area sleep? >> the whole dynamic has changed with the sense of the muslim brotrhood in egypt. they are now running the show in egypt. the very first one meeting that the egyptian muslim brotherhood -- there is a new online fair to the israel people and the turks a couple of years ago started reaching out to the iranians, too. now you have the full encirclement of israel by iran. lou: as we look at this, now we turn to northern africa. the role of al qaeda.

house intelligence and senate intelligence committees -- do you think they will be forthcoming? >> yes, i do. another network reporting that david atrios wants to testify, but he knew within 24 hours that this was a terror attack and it was all al sharia. lou: if he saidthat, that makes him a liar. >> correct, and he will have to explain his original testimony behind closed doors with some kind of video. he has some serious explaining to do. >> to my point, i think there is something more sinister behind us. i wonder if the administration said, we will allow you to keep your job. tell them it's about a video, rather than saying that the cia knew this was about a terrorist attack. lou: ron christie, monica

crowley, thank you so much. much more on the fiscal cliff deal. in gaza, and of course, general petraeus. as we take it up with the "a-team" coming up next. is he right? were republicans or two about a? the a-team joins me next. and the keystone pipeline, here we go again. president obama kill the pipeline the lease until after the election. can union workers convince him to start laying the pipe? will be his hostilities resulted in a wider war?

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lou: with israel may want to ground operation against the gaza strip after palestinians fired 200 rockets into israel. three israelis have been killed. troops and tanks are moving toward the border. the government called up 30,000 reservists the escalation comes one day after the missile strike killed palestinians including the top military commander of hamas. the white hoe blames the loss for the explosion of violence after what has been a difficult truce. doing the me now is katie mcfarlane from nixon, ford nixon, ford, reagan administration's. what about now israel, hamas in the region? israel decide this is a make my day moment

potentially of the north and has lot. with the muslim brotherhood and then that puts them into a position to make a pre-emptive strike against the nuclear site it doesn't have it iran's ability to retaliate. also the muslim brherhood president will go to the gaza strip. also maybe going to th brotherhood of you have a war against them. lou: if you say that and did rapacious really is a gauge in conflict one would think he would be fearful of his

well-being. >> but we look at him and say we got rid of the dictator that was pro america nw we have a leader that is anti-american but there are more extreme people. if there is a fight to israel and its neighbors but watch egypt. that is what has kept peace 40 years. if the dip decides it will join the fight then the whole region goes up. lou: the muslim brotherhood creating complexities but militarily this would be a very foolish and reckless they but to confront israel.

>> that doesn't make sure they did not start it. >> battle bobbin not supportive of this is a lazio -- israel would be passed immediately. americans would not stand for anything threatening the existence of israel. the arab and the muslim leaders understand that. i think you are right. with the egyptians egyptians, syrians -- syrians en israel with but what happens to the other countries? rose ze spring countries got rid of the leaders now

they are in worse economic conditions now they will look like this -- look for a scapegoat. who was that? israel. lou: now we look for a leadership and has not been forthcoming. i want to compliment you you were a one first to say david petraeus may look for the opportunity to tell his side of the story. you have bad right. i want to give you credit. what will we see you tomorrow? >> it is behind closed doors. three will know if it is. if he wants to come out to say it was a terrorist attack, although old saying saying, the video, hat was

the very tail. then he will blow the administration out of the water. it is not just benghazi. that is a symptom. because is we have screwed up in the middle eas. what have we got and replace of the dictators? anti-american governments. libya is one of many things we have done wrong. lou: we have new representatives of the house and those of the senate that think the american people should be endlessly patient with the few breadcrumbs that have been dropped that we doan need to know and we will be told in our own time. this looks like a very an american system of government. the people are last in the

leaked our first. >> gettelfinger petraeus will testify about the affair. lou: i will shock you. i could care less. >> that is why people pay attention. at the end of e day if they think it will be watergate able fall over themselves to have to open hearings in. >> will be with the best of motivations. [laughter] up next on bodman has not started his second term bu buffett has already made the endorsement in 2016. also our guests coming up. the "a team" s next.

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lou: we hope to you enjoy the break for a presidential campaign. billionaire warren buffett is out with the first doors meant of the 2016 election with the very first endorsement of secretary of state hillary could 10 saying he hopes that she runs he'd doesn't know how there is anybody better qualified. she said she is not interested. who will you believe? this may aggravate your frustration with congress. democratic senator murphy wants to cheer the senate budget committee but cannot commit to doing a budget. you cannot make this up.

so it is highly likely democrats will not give a budget for four straight years. and the keystone xl pipeline in the statement that afl-cio building and construction trades department says america voted for jobs last week the pipeline would have tens of thousands. 11 poin 4% unemployment rate in the construion industry last month. general petraeus will testify on benghazi tomorrow. the implications for the president and the country tomorrow. the "a team". [ male announcer ] how can power consumption in china, impact wool exports from new zealand, textile production in spain, and the use of medical technology in the u.s.?

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lou: we have a lot for the "a team" tonight. let me start with you because your read is the brightest. [laughter] but tomorrow be will have the sense of what david petraeus will tell the committee. will libya blockbuster? >> i am not sure. will he contradict himself? he could create a lot of damage for the president to paint him as a liar wit the statements of a spontaneous mob but he is responsible

for his own words. if he says renews this was a terrorist attack people will question in him than why d you lie to us? lou: with all those of the intelligence committee ready an information campaign against the american people is the effect of what you are saying. >> right. petraeus has one major goal to salvage his reputation. right now it has been shattered. he will find some way to prove the cia did would it needed to do and the others did not. lou: here are some of the comments from dianne feinstein. from testimony today saying there will be no comment on

whether the cia operatives called for help and whether the testimony today supported the administrations initial and original version of the events. senator chambliss admitted results have been made as a resultf the testimy. what is going on? this is not transparent and open. not the obama administration. they have already solidified their approach but how cautious is the said it? >> after tomorrow two minutes after he is if there the leaks will start. and that is where it will go then you will get answers. >> how did she have no comment?

some questions require yes or no. was there a call fr help or not? that is a yes or no. lou: thank you to reporting of katherine harris and jenna fur griffin. we will take this up and your analysis. what is the president's strategy with the fiscal cliff? i am so tired of that expression but we will use expression but we will use ely.ar. but because of business people like you, things are beginning to get rolling. and regions is here help. making it easier w with the expertise and service to keep those wheels turning.

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lou: amassed a best seller on the sub ministration. republican leaders in washington about this very thing. whether they are right or wrong, i don't know. they believe in their hearts that this president is trying to go over the cliff. he has looked at the polls.

nearly all of them say, if we go over, it's the republicans who people are going to blame. the republican. lou: it is a silly thing not begun negotiations. think about the pollster who posed the question, inviting such silliness and absurdities as to make a decision about something that has not transpired is not even begun. no foundation for blame. >> can'tou see bill clinton getting on the phone to barack obama and saying, you remember what i did back in 19 whenever. i made the republicans' response will be closing down the government. they never got over it. destroy them. lou: i think that actually i would not be surprised if bill clinton is not orchestrated the whole thing right now, if you will, behind the curtain. >> i would not be surprised if

president obama was on the phone with a regular basis with former president clinton talking about what occurred in 95. they did force the government shut down and it was the end of republicans for a while. it was pretty extraordinary. >> barack obama campaigned on this issue. think he will dig his heels in, and he very successfully painted republans as obstructionists. that is at it will be blamed i agree with you. i think he will dig his heels in. not so sure that the republican leaders will dig their heels and on the taxhikes. i'm not sure where this will go. a see a potential for republicans giving, not barack obama. >> i would like to say that i see a potential for both mcconnell and pain at the dividend do what thepresident is done which i council both

parties to do. approach policy from the perspective of the middle class, those who aspire to it. i've said it for the past two years in this campaign. the president actually did it. it paid off, and it paid off by one-half of 1%. and i think that is an advantage. do you think they're capable of pivoting? >> yes. i think he absolutely is. >> i agree. >> he is the most important person in this right now. he -- by who they chose jim it's pretty clear where he was this party the go. lou: i sure hope somebody starts talking about the fact that we have seen individual tax receipts for the federal government go up by 26% over the past two years with those bush tax cuts in place. it might add to the intellectual argument. if we can call it that. thank you very much. see you. now, your comments. i believe the ad mall was on t